I was down in Danville Friday and Saturday for the NJCAA Division II National Championships. Danville Area Community College is 3 miles from the Indiana border, and 37 miles east of Champaign.
History was made last season as the South Suburban Bulldogs, led by star point guard DaMarco Minor, completed an undefeated 33-0 season. The Bulldogs beat Davidson-Davie 79-63. This season the Bulldogs were upset in the Regional semifinals against Waubonsee, who beat Bryant & Stratton to get to the Tournament.
The story of the tournament was Milwaukee Area Technical College. In the 2019-20 season, the Stormers went 31-1, but were robbed at a chance for the National Championship when the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.
This year the Stormers came into the tournament as the 7 seed. Waubonsee was seeded 12th, and Danville Area was seeded 4th. All three teams won their respective opening round games. In the quarterfinals, the Stormers knocked off Niagara County, and the Jaguars beat the Chiefs.
Here is a recap of Friday and Saturday:
Mason Johnson, Mikale Stevenson Lead Milwaukee to First Place Finish:
In the semifinal game, the Stormers battled it out with a feisty SUNY Orange County squad. The Colts' had a smaller starting five, but were able to match the energy of the Stormers. The Colts were led by Kevin Stein (10 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists), Romeo Aquino (17 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals), Darius Boben (12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists), and Keon Gill (15 points).
The game was tied at 41 at halftime, and was back-and-forth throughout. With the game tied at 74 late in regulation, Stormers star point guard Mikale Stevenson drained a three, and iced the game with two free throws as the Stormers beat Orange County 79-76. Stevenson had 16 points, 5 assists, and 5 steals. Mason Johnson led the Stormers with 20 points and 11 rebounds. K.J. Taylor had 15 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Tarek Abdel Kireem had 12 points and 4 rebounds off the bench.
The Stormers dominated in the Championship game, beating Macomb 86-65. The Monarchs hung with the Stormers for a while, and only trailed 45-36 at halftime, but the Stormers speed and quickness proved to be too much. K.J. Taylor led the Stormers with 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Mikale Stevenson, who was the catalyst for the Stormers throughout the season, had 17 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals. Tournament MVP Mason Johnson had 14 points and 7 rebounds. DeMarco Clayton, who had the tough semifinal game, redeemed himself with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 assists.
Jaguars Lose Tough Battle in Semifinal; Take 3rd Place:
Prior to their semifinal matchup against Macomb, the Jaguars had won 13 in a row, including a hard fought 83-78 quarterfinal win over Waubonsee. The semifinal did not disappoint. The Jaguars led Macomb 39-31 at halftime before the Monarchs came out of the second half and ran up a 13-3 start to the half. The Jaguars regrouped after a timeout, and went blow for blow with the Monarchs and the game was tied at 62 at the end of regulation.
The Jaguars started the overtime on a 5-0 run, but the Monarchs answered with a 4-0 run of their own, and trailed by 1 with 22.6 seconds left. Monarchs forward Aidan Rubio (16 points, 9 rebounds) drove to the basket, made the go-ahead basket, and hit a free throw after being fouled. The Jaguars had 11.5 seconds left, and they called on number 30 Ryan Caddell, who hadn't been in the game prior. Caddell was able to get a shot off before time expired, but missed.
Jaguars forward Kendall Taylor led all scorers with 21 points, and Ramelle Arnold had 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists. Monarchs guard Tamario Adley led with 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Juwan Maxey had 13 points and 3 rebounds off the bench, including a big three-pointer in overtime.
The Jaguars would take 3rd place, defeating SUNY Orange County 74-65.
Chiefs End Incredible Run on Friday:
What a season for the Chiefs! They upset the defending champion South Suburban Bulldogs in the Regional semifinals, and defeat the Bryant & Stratton Bobcats to advance to the National Tournament. After beating Iowa Lakes in round 1, the Chiefs dropped a tough battle against Danville Area, and lost in the 5th place semifinal to last year's National runner-up, Davidson-Davie. The Chiefs were led by Joey Niesman (18.3 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 4.6 APG), Jaylyn Kelley (14.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 3.6 APG), Brice Langford (10.5 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 1.5 APG), Duane Doss (10.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 2.7 APG), and Colton Schutt (7.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.1 APG).
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